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I liked your article but I have to say that, in this regard I come down more on the side of the Mike Sigmans out there. Most of us have been left to figure things out on our own. Very few people doing Aikido have much, if any, idea about what they are trying to do.

Well, there's my entre' that I was looking for to say just this, even though it's not particularly related: George, one of the most difficult things to accept is that not everyone has the same fervor for the same goals that we may have. You're only going to be speaking, at best, to a few people if you're devotedly interested in the acme of an art. The "surfeit" of teachers and students is misleading.